6-meter handheld antenna recommendations?

[W6SAE]

First, my apologies if this has been covered already.

I am considering buying a dual-band (6-meter/2-meter) handheld transceiver and am interested in input from anyone regarding their experience with 6-meter handhelds, especially with regard to antennas. The particular model in consideration transmits at 4 watts on 50 MHz and 5 watts on VHF. At this point, I'm not looking for a mobile or base station antenna. One likely contender that I've found is the Diamond SRH940.

Thanks in advance!

 

[prcguy]

I had great success with a Maldol tri band 6m/2m/440 telescoping antenna that was about 3ft tall with a coil in the center on a Yaesu VX8R. From a 550ft hill in my area I routinely checked into a 6m AM net and am heard for about 60mi around. There was one guy checking into the net about 135mi away on another hill and he heard me just fine. BTW, the VX8R only does about 1w carrier in AM mode on 6m.

I loaned the Maldol antenna to a friend who eventually lost it and I've never found the same model for sale since. I also purchase a couple of telescopic whips on Ebay from a guy in Thailand including a 6m version and it looks very promising, but I've not tried it yet. Here is a link to the antenna: Ham Amateur Radio 6 Meter Band 50MHz 45.5" BNC Telescopic Antenna
prcguy

First, my apologies if this has been covered already.

I am considering buying a dual-band (6-meter/2-meter) handheld transceiver and am interested in input from anyone regarding their experience with 6-meter handhelds, especially with regard to antennas. The particular model in consideration transmits at 4 watts on 50 MHz and 5 watts on VHF. At this point, I'm not looking for a mobile or base station antenna. One likely contender that I've found is the Diamond SRH940.

Thanks in advance!

 

[W6SAE]

I also purchase a couple of telescopic whips on Ebay from a guy in Thailand including a 6m version and it looks very promising, but I've not tried it yet. Here is a link to the antenna: Ham Amateur Radio 6 Meter Band 50MHz 45.5" BNC Telescopic Antenna

Now that you mention it, I did see that one earlier. The guy has 99.9% positive feedback rating, which is good (I pay close attention to that after having been burned with counterfeit equipment). I'll consider it.

In addition to the Diamond antenna I mentioned above, I did find one Maldol 6m/2m/70cm antenna at the Antenna Farm, the MH-510. It's 20.5" long.

 

[TheSpaceMann]

You can actually make a quick portable 6 meter dipole out of an old "Rabbit Ears" indoor TV antenna!

 

[prcguy]

The Maldol/Comet MH-510 was not it, look for a long telescopic triband version.
prcguy

Now that you mention it, I did see that one earlier. The guy has 99.9% positive feedback rating, which is good (I pay close attention to that after having been burned with counterfeit equipment). I'll consider it.

In addition to the Diamond antenna I mentioned above, I did find one Maldol 6m/2m/70cm antenna at the Antenna Farm, the MH-510. It's 20.5" long.

 

[mass-man]

Best thing I ever did for my Cherokee AH-50 was get a telescoping antenna...extended fully, almost 56 inches, it made for very reliable contacts. Personally, a dedicated 6 mtr telescoping antenna and then a 2 mtr. antenna would be my choice...

.02 added...

 

[K5MPH]

Best thing I ever did for my Cherokee AH-50 was get a telescoping antenna...extended fully, almost 56 inches, it made for very reliable contacts. Personally, a dedicated 6 mtr telescoping antenna and then a 2 mtr. antenna would be my choice...

.02 added...

The Telescoping antennas are the way to go,the one that are a rubber duck dont do good on 6 meters......

 

[W6SAE]

Thanks for all the input. Two separate antennas seems like the way to go. The radio I have in mind will probably mostly be used for 6 meters anyway, as I already have other HTs for 144/220/440.

I think I may order both the telescopic antenna mentioned above and the MH-510; the prices aren't that steep and it will give me some flexibility, depending on the situation.

 

[krokus]

The Maldol/Comet MH-510 was not it, look for a long telescopic triband version.
prcguy

Was this one it?

http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamantht/1659.html

Sent via Tapatalk

 

[prcguy]

That looks like it. I also remember people commenting I was putting out a slightly better signal on 6m when using the remote speaker/mic because it gives you a little more ground plane under the antenna. I believe the longer 6m only telescopic whip on Ebay would work better and I need to range test mine someday soon.
prcguy

Was this one it?

Maldol AH-510R Amateur HT Antennas

Sent via Tapatalk

 

[W6SAE]

Update

The 6m telescoping antenna from the guy in Thailand arrived today. It looks well-made. I also purchased the Maldol MH-510 whip for those times when I might need to flip between 6 and 2 meters. I can't wait to get out and try them!

 

[W6SAE]

By the way, the radio I'm using is a Wouxun KG-UV5D (6m/2m) that I picked up from Main Trading Co.

 

[w9dav]

6 m ht ?

how is that wouxun 6m hand held working out for you?
what are your antenna test results ?

Dave

 

[SCPD]

Neat!.... a 6 mtr hand held (Wouxun KG-UV5D), and at a very reasonable price- with good reviews---
.
I just ordered myself a little Christmas present!.
.
.
..............................................................

 

[vagrant]

A fellow operator and I have each been trying out some Wouxun KG-UV5D radios for several months now. We purchased a good handful of various rubber whips, all poor choices I know, to compare side by side while connecting to a local repeater. Fortunately, we did not overlap and tried one of each. We even switched radios to confirm performance with each antenna.

We found the best antenna for 6m in that floppy antenna category was the Yaesu YHA-63. It is typically supplied with a Yaesu 817ND. The final extreme testing was laying the HT on the ground with the antenna horizontal and working the repeater, or not connecting to it in some cases.

Here is the ranking order we achieved. Your results may vary. We used adapters when necessary, but did not use a counterpoise on the HT.
1. Yaesu YHA-63
2. Maldol MH-510
3. Diamond SRH-940
4. Stock antenna
5. Diamond SRH-999

#1 & #2 were pretty close on the results. While the Maldol MH-510 is slightly less in price, the floppiness of the MH-510 made it less friendly to use over the stiffer YHA-63. The Diamond SRH-940 was a distant third.

I recently acquired a Maldol MH-511 and the initial test results are not that bad, although more comparative testing is needed. The MH-511 is not flexible, regardless of how it appears.

I ordered that 6m telescoping from the guy in Thailand tonight. I expect it will perform better than the Yaesu, but it all depends on one's needs at the time. I expect it will work well enough with a bit of counterpoise on my 817ND.

 

[nd5y]

These will work on 6m if you use an antenna analyzer to adjust the length so it is resonant.
Super Stick II 2 Meter

 

[W6SAE]

how is that wouxun 6m hand held working out for you?
what are your antenna test results ?

Dave

So far, so good. I've made some 6-meter contacts, but traffic on that band is somewhat sparse around here. Most contacts have been on 2 meters.

It seems to be a well-built radio, especially for the price.

The telescoping has worked well for me so far. Results for the MH-510 have been inconclusive for me on 6 meters. It has worked well for me on 2 meters, although I have shorter antennas that work just as well on that band.

 

[VE6ND]

Harris/Thales broadband for 6 meters

Hi
I started using a Harris/Thales antenna that covers 6 thru 500Mhz on my FT-817 with an exceptional VSWR on all bands. It is a compromise but does work a lot better than the YHA-63 antenna that comes with the 817.
Testing shows that on 2 meters it works 60% better than a conventional rubber antenna.
This is due to the matching network in the base of the antenna.

Glenn, VE6ND

 

[prcguy]

Is this the 13" rubber antenna with a TNC connector? If it works better than the Yaesu antenna its because its a big longer and not due to any matching network. These antennas are rated 30 to 520MHz and the matching network keeps the match under about 3.5:1 at the expense of loss.
prcguy

Hi
I started using a Harris/Thales antenna that covers 6 thru 500Mhz on my FT-817 with an exceptional VSWR on all bands. It is a compromise but does work a lot better than the YHA-63 antenna that comes with the 817.
Testing shows that on 2 meters it works 60% better than a conventional rubber antenna.
This is due to the matching network in the base of the antenna.

Glenn, VE6ND

 

[VE6ND]

Harris antenna

Yes it is, and the antenna is somewhat longer but the matching network does not have as much loss as one would think. Efficiency is good on 6 meters better than the top loaded YHA-63, I've been testing the antenna for about a week now and after putting it on a network analyzer it is much improved over any conventional rubber duck of the same size or close to it.
So yes the matching network does work quite well on this particular antenna with very little loss, if the losses were that great they wouldn't have been used/issued.
For 222Mhz while portable I use the Trivec Avant 2040 and while the network is larger in physical design it does pretty much what the smaller Harris rubber antenna does.

Glenn, VE6ND